So, what's in fashion this cricket season? It isn't a particular brand and its gear, neither sporting a tattoo, nor a flashy hair style -- our generation-next cricketers have moved beyond such fads. The in-thing that I talk of is, bizarrely, a whole new understanding of the game, a version which is difficult to make sense of by old-school boys like me. What's alarming is that most seem to be swearing by this new, warped philosophy that pace is an "over-rated virtue" and that genuine fast bowlers are fools to invest time and energy in honing this skill.

Educating me on the subject of "neo-cricketism" has been a fast bowler, in his late teens, with the ability to generate great pace for his age. This kid regularly made the batsmen, even the much senior batsmen, jump and hop. In fact, on first seeing him, and having been thoroughly impressed, I'd marked him as 'one for the future'. The kid went on to play first-class cricket in India and I kept hearing good things about him. Well, my last rendezvous gave me an opportunity to know him closely and decipher the workings of many young minds like him even better, not particularly to my pleasure though.

For starters, he's no longer obsessed with pace; in fact he's lost a lot of it, voluntarily.

"Voluntarily?--who in his right mind would want to do that. Wasn't it supposed to be one of the most potent weapons in a fast bowler's armoury?" I snapped like a nagging parent!

To that the kid, with an I-know-it-all look, informed me, "Have you had a look at the surfaces on which we play our cricket in India? C'mon, you were there for the Ranji final last year, weren't you? Almost every bouncer bowled reached the wicketkeeper, who was standing no further than 10 yards from the batsman, in two bounces. Bowling quick is no longer a boon, but a bane!"

Alarmed by such talk, I still persisted, "That was just one game. Not all the games are played on such surfaces. I've heard that the BCCI has given directives to most curators around the country to make greenish pitches. Moreover, there's an apparent dearth of bowlers who can bowl fast, and hence they are priceless. India reveres good bowlers!"

Not in a mood to back down, like most kids of his age, he continued, "How many endorsements did Zaheer Khan get after his sterling efforts to win the World Cup for India in 2011? Wasn't his performance at par with many others in the team? The batsmen who didn't even play all the games in the World Cup are seen in adverts more often. To say that we revere fast bowlers is false."

I decided it was time to use the IPL card, for it was a sure shot way to lure this boy to change his mind. "There's the IPL and we don't have many Indian fast bowlers. We all know that in T20 cricket bowlers are worth their weight in gold. Anyone who can bowl four economical overs regularly is worth a lot more than the ones who can score at a strike-rate of 150."

This was bound to work, I thought secretly. "Check your figures", he said with a smirk. "Even the best bowlers in the IPL, the likes of Lasith Malinga and Dale Steyn are worth no more than a million, but even some second-rate batsmen are taking home close to 2 million." This one had just backfired badly.

Time for a role reversal, for getting angry wasn't helping, and both logic and lure had also given up the quest. So, this time like a patient parent, I started all over again, "Point taken but it isn't always about the money, son. Since there are many good batsmen around, the easiest and the quickest way to play for India is to bowl fast. If you're able to do that, selectors will surely fast track your progress and you'll be an India player in no time. You just need to clock 145 consistently (as if clocking 145 is a joke, but I needed to sound convincing)."

He smilingly, as if looking through my naïve tactics, replied, "You don't have to bowl fast to play for India anymore; in fact I heard the (former) chairman of selectors Kris Srikkanth, while explaining the non-inclusion of Umesh Yadav, say that speed is an 'overrated virtue'. But before you point out Umesh and [Varun] Aaron, let me remind you how unreasonable and cruel it is for people to expect bowlers in India to bowl fast. Even if you prepare good pitches on which the ball carries nicely to the keeper, would it take away from the fact that a bowler is expected to bowl 50 overs in a week? There are only three days between two first-class games, and if I want to feature in all of them (I should if I want to get enough wickets to get noticed), it is imperative for me to cut down on pace. If I want to bowl at 100% every time I bowl without cutting down on the number of overs and matches, I'll get injured. Most bowlers in the country have mastered the art of bowling effectively at 70%. Moreover the SG Test ball we use in the Indian domestic circuit is more rewarding to the bowlers who, instead of hitting the deck hard, release the ball."

Suddenly, it felt like I was making a case for fast bowlers in vain. In the ideal world, I would've wanted him to never give up pace. But he was probably right. Today it is more about being a 'smart' bowler than a mere 'fast' bowler--such are the changed dynamics of "neo-cricket" in India.

The boy is now looking to work on his batting, and perfect the yorkers and slower-ones. These currencies are worth a lot more in the IPL market than the ability to just bowl fast, he updates me.

This fad among the fast bowlers isn't a fad after all, I am afraid. It's a risky philosophy to develop, a larger debate between 'what's good for the player' and 'what's good for the game'. And that's a precarious one to handle. Even more precarious for Indian cricket.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra is the author of Out of the Blue, an account of Rajasthan's 2010-11 Ranji Trophy victory. His website is here and his Twitter feed here

First of all Akash thanks for writing the post.
I won't blame the noy - there are few points why we don't have fast bowlers.
1) India has always been a better batting nation.
2) Young cricketers have not seen any internation India bowler terrifying the batsman at all(ok Ishant and Umesh yadav bowl fast i agree).
Now when they see age old wisdom our senior bowlers are found spreading - pace is not important accuracy is - well true but the young bowlers end up doing none as they reduce the pace and natural aggression is lost.
I hope something changes about this and we find fast bowlers soon.
Or we mind end up saying what MSD said - we are not even bowling onebouncer -how will we use the second one.

fanedlive
on December 6, 2012, 2:55 GMT

I don't agree with the author and his source. Cricket is lifeless without fast bowling --- the climber coming at your neck at 90+ mph is what we pay to see. Don't get me wrong...spin and guile is good too...but not at the cost of pace bowling. Pakistan has an advantage in a good legacy. We started with Khan Mohammad, Mahmood Hussain and Fazal Mahmood who were all good through till early sixties. Later we had Imran Khan and have never looked back since. Youngsters love to run up and hurl the bowl as fast as they can. If pitches don't help you swing the ball in air or reverse it. It is unfortunate the we lost two of our best bowlers including Mohammad Amir the teenage prodigy, we seem to be OK with some bench strength as well. Invest in pitches...but at least find one star and create a legacy...like you did for batters with Sunil Gavaskar.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 23:55 GMT

This is an excellent article revealing what India lacks today and why it does not have the killer punch that is so badly required to win when touring overseas. Aakash is absolutely right in pointing out the basic mistakes that BCCI and selectors keep repeating. Very thought provoking message for all those concerned indeed. If India are to be a force to reckon with in the world of test cricket, they need to develop and take very good care of an exclusive bunch of genuine quicks, strictly meant for test cricket only, not IPL or any other format. Also they need to be rewarded well for their efforts to keep them interested.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 20:13 GMT

The whole thing is flawed. If guy is build like pakistani , he can bowl fast. Major issue is Diet. If you eat vegetarian and want to bowl fast , its not happening. Its pipe dream. Also in general indian society do not like athletes. Bowlers are athletes. Bowling in india is kinda thankless job. All these bowling in flat indian wickets are futile is a bad argument. If you ask a short guy with limited energy what he gona say? Lifeform is based on conserving energy. You have to find strong tall kids. his context will be different. In India bowlers think like batsman that is bottom line mental issue. Batsman go to hotel , playing card and drinking beer , but bowlers has to hit the gym if he wants to keep the spot and they don't like to do. so the dilemma. Everyone wants easy money. Simple.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 11:08 GMT

Kudos Aakash for a thought provoking article! This has been the bane of an aspiring, talented fast bowler in India! Those who stuck to pace,waned out due to injuries(like Desai,Salgaonkar,etc) and wiser people like Prasad,Kuruvilla,Munaf "adjusted" to the reality!

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 7:34 GMT

I have always wondered why anybody in their right mind would want to become a fast bowler in test cricket in India. Now it looks like everybody is wondering. Good.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 4:04 GMT

Nice article again by a nice person. But, I wonder what made him to write this article.... Probably his first over out in his recent Ranji match to a 36 year old, unknown FAST bowler....:)

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 3:41 GMT

It is more a result of the rules of the game being made more in favour of batsmen then anything else, to attract the viewers. And it is bound to happen when T20 and IPL become more prominent then Test Cricket for the BCCI or for that matter ICC. When you are targeting audience like women etc most of who hardly know a b c of cricket and are just interested in Slang Bang T20 cricket, what you expect from BCCI etc who seem more money minded then cricket minded.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 21:15 GMT

Akash-nice way of summing up the ineffectiveness of our management and obsession of our people,media, corporate world etc with batsmen.
The bowler in question is absolutely right, he answered all your permutations and combinations in a fitting manner because he is actively involved in the game and knows the psyche.
Just look at the answer ZAK performed wonderfully in the WC and has been doing it for over a decade now, is he getting his due share of recognition both in terms of endorsement and public appreciation and media coverage, not really and look at Munaf he was the unsung hero of the world cup(if you analyse his performance with relevance to the effectiveness)where is he now.
If we have to produce genuine quicks, first the management should change its mindset followed by the media, the corporate world, the public and last but least the captain who is in charge, the pithces too. If not then the dream will always remain a dream.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 20:37 GMT

The same old story. India is lazy and dishonest. They look for short cuts and tricks. Just like going to swamies to get their wishes realized. Hence spin and batting. Fast bowling and fielding will never be sought after here. Indians are not prepared to work hard to compete with the best in the world.

fanedlive
on January 14, 2013, 10:42 GMT

First of all Akash thanks for writing the post.
I won't blame the noy - there are few points why we don't have fast bowlers.
1) India has always been a better batting nation.
2) Young cricketers have not seen any internation India bowler terrifying the batsman at all(ok Ishant and Umesh yadav bowl fast i agree).
Now when they see age old wisdom our senior bowlers are found spreading - pace is not important accuracy is - well true but the young bowlers end up doing none as they reduce the pace and natural aggression is lost.
I hope something changes about this and we find fast bowlers soon.
Or we mind end up saying what MSD said - we are not even bowling onebouncer -how will we use the second one.

fanedlive
on December 6, 2012, 2:55 GMT

I don't agree with the author and his source. Cricket is lifeless without fast bowling --- the climber coming at your neck at 90+ mph is what we pay to see. Don't get me wrong...spin and guile is good too...but not at the cost of pace bowling. Pakistan has an advantage in a good legacy. We started with Khan Mohammad, Mahmood Hussain and Fazal Mahmood who were all good through till early sixties. Later we had Imran Khan and have never looked back since. Youngsters love to run up and hurl the bowl as fast as they can. If pitches don't help you swing the ball in air or reverse it. It is unfortunate the we lost two of our best bowlers including Mohammad Amir the teenage prodigy, we seem to be OK with some bench strength as well. Invest in pitches...but at least find one star and create a legacy...like you did for batters with Sunil Gavaskar.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 23:55 GMT

This is an excellent article revealing what India lacks today and why it does not have the killer punch that is so badly required to win when touring overseas. Aakash is absolutely right in pointing out the basic mistakes that BCCI and selectors keep repeating. Very thought provoking message for all those concerned indeed. If India are to be a force to reckon with in the world of test cricket, they need to develop and take very good care of an exclusive bunch of genuine quicks, strictly meant for test cricket only, not IPL or any other format. Also they need to be rewarded well for their efforts to keep them interested.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 20:13 GMT

The whole thing is flawed. If guy is build like pakistani , he can bowl fast. Major issue is Diet. If you eat vegetarian and want to bowl fast , its not happening. Its pipe dream. Also in general indian society do not like athletes. Bowlers are athletes. Bowling in india is kinda thankless job. All these bowling in flat indian wickets are futile is a bad argument. If you ask a short guy with limited energy what he gona say? Lifeform is based on conserving energy. You have to find strong tall kids. his context will be different. In India bowlers think like batsman that is bottom line mental issue. Batsman go to hotel , playing card and drinking beer , but bowlers has to hit the gym if he wants to keep the spot and they don't like to do. so the dilemma. Everyone wants easy money. Simple.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 11:08 GMT

Kudos Aakash for a thought provoking article! This has been the bane of an aspiring, talented fast bowler in India! Those who stuck to pace,waned out due to injuries(like Desai,Salgaonkar,etc) and wiser people like Prasad,Kuruvilla,Munaf "adjusted" to the reality!

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 7:34 GMT

I have always wondered why anybody in their right mind would want to become a fast bowler in test cricket in India. Now it looks like everybody is wondering. Good.

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 4:04 GMT

Nice article again by a nice person. But, I wonder what made him to write this article.... Probably his first over out in his recent Ranji match to a 36 year old, unknown FAST bowler....:)

fanedlive
on December 5, 2012, 3:41 GMT

It is more a result of the rules of the game being made more in favour of batsmen then anything else, to attract the viewers. And it is bound to happen when T20 and IPL become more prominent then Test Cricket for the BCCI or for that matter ICC. When you are targeting audience like women etc most of who hardly know a b c of cricket and are just interested in Slang Bang T20 cricket, what you expect from BCCI etc who seem more money minded then cricket minded.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 21:15 GMT

Akash-nice way of summing up the ineffectiveness of our management and obsession of our people,media, corporate world etc with batsmen.
The bowler in question is absolutely right, he answered all your permutations and combinations in a fitting manner because he is actively involved in the game and knows the psyche.
Just look at the answer ZAK performed wonderfully in the WC and has been doing it for over a decade now, is he getting his due share of recognition both in terms of endorsement and public appreciation and media coverage, not really and look at Munaf he was the unsung hero of the world cup(if you analyse his performance with relevance to the effectiveness)where is he now.
If we have to produce genuine quicks, first the management should change its mindset followed by the media, the corporate world, the public and last but least the captain who is in charge, the pithces too. If not then the dream will always remain a dream.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 20:37 GMT

The same old story. India is lazy and dishonest. They look for short cuts and tricks. Just like going to swamies to get their wishes realized. Hence spin and batting. Fast bowling and fielding will never be sought after here. Indians are not prepared to work hard to compete with the best in the world.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 19:08 GMT

agreed akash sir. Curators should prepare green topped track for the first class games. And should be atleast one week time in between matches. While watching english counties, noticed that some of the pitches are turning from the first overs. Means they are keen to promote spinners and that gives batsmen a chance to develop their skill against spinners. But when india visited last year in england, all pitches were green topped. They dont want to provide a hope for indians. Thats the way to be.
For first class matches, should be green pitches and turners for international game especially against team like SA, ENG and AUS.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 17:50 GMT

It's not only about the pitches. Pakistan has similar dead pitches but it produces fast bowlers (in fact, all kinds of bowlers!) because people there idolize fast bowlers. They see a certain glamour and style in fast bowling. Unless we start seeing the same panache in fast bowling, we'll never start getting good bowlers.

People should realize that fast bowling is an amazing amalgamation of mind, body and endurance. It is really a challenge before the human consciousness. People should be encouraged to pick up the gauntlet.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 17:27 GMT

I agree with you,but still to be a fast bowler is something else which noone can take from you,Ask two W(Wasim and Waqar)'s from Pak and also previous Windies bowler's,When batsmen fears you that satisfaction is something which is irrestible.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 16:44 GMT

excellent article Akash

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 16:01 GMT

I still think the talent level is what's lacking. Pakistani greats have been successful on similar pitches by utilizing a much fuller length and using late swing. But there's a lot of skill required to bowl that way. This is why Waqar Younus and Waseem Akram are legends, with Shoaib Akhtar next in line.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 15:55 GMT

very interesting...but, its indeed true that India doesn't revere bowlers...no wonder our batting has always been stronger than bowling. We need a Shane Warne to turn this around.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 15:34 GMT

We always had a rivalry with Pakistan on Cricket?
Can't we carry that in pace attack also?
Across the border,
they always have,
and we never have such quicks.
Why?

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 14:52 GMT

Well,on one side I quite understand the bowlers do not have inclination to bowl fast.....at the same time the ability to bowl fast should also be developed.....really good fast bowlers have always succeeded even in India.....in fact as some others have pointed before me Pakistan has been consistently producing quality speed merchants and without much help from pitches.....so it is more of attitude.....that jewel of a fast bowler who has unnecessarily ruined his career because of greed was bowling at such speed,guile and accuracy that even as a teenager and without great physique he was a menace......I sincerely hope he is back again.....he has potential to become a very good all rounder.....in short if you have the attitude,go for it.....the main criterion is over a period of time you must develop sustained accuracy......

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 14:23 GMT

For something to become extinct that thing should have existed first. When did India ever have "fast" bowlers?

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 14:21 GMT

Very nice article Akash. You summarized facts of Indian fast bowlers very well. Unless BCCI comes out with an intentionality to produce more fast bowlers by making seamer friendly pitches, nothing will change. We may see one Javagal Sreenath or one Umesh Yadav once in a decade or two. Fact of the matter what our administrators don't understand is by creating such seaming and bouncy pitches, you not only develop fast bowlers, you will also develop good batsmen who can play well on such pitches and also can win matches outside the subcontinent more often. With regard to lucarative offers these batsmen get, just look back how many fast bowlers made in to BCCI Selection commitees or held good positions in BCCI. High time to change our perspective towards developing fast bowlers. Again, Akash you brought up very good point. Hope some key men of BCCI reads this article.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 13:33 GMT

I think we need bouncy pitch for upcoming match we need to tray some player like chand,kohli,manoj,rahane on bouncy pitch. We need try some very young fast bowler like umesh,aaron,shami ahemad,sandeep sharma,rush kalariya,siddhart kaul.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 13:09 GMT

I fully agree with the article. Infact, long back I used to be sarcastic with my friends it is not far where the bowlers need to only bowl full toss so that the batsman can score sixes & fours. We are catching with baseball. A game which is has stood for centuries will be killed in a couple of years. I think the viewers have changed and hence no place for people like us.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 12:35 GMT

what akaash has written is absolutely correct why to concentrate to bowl 15 to 20 overs when u r very well off bowling 4 over thats why career like ashish nehra is over early

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 12:28 GMT

Indian culture is too produce good batsman not many fast bowlers.the problem is lies also on the diet as well,for bowling around 90 mph u need great diet to maintain on it.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 12:10 GMT

nice one.agreed to all of it................but i always keep my self at wonder how pak manages to be the best bowling side with lot variation always

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 12:10 GMT

nice one.agreed to all of it................but i always keep my self at wonder how pak manages to be the best bowling side with lot variation always

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 11:49 GMT

Very true Sir, and thus we have many examples of potential fast bowlers who had it in them but had a very short career with too many pauses (in and out from the team) like Sreesanth, RP Singh, Munaf Patel, Nehra, and even earlier Abey Kuruvilla, Debashish Mohanty, Harvinder Singh. We can just hope that Umesh Yadav (esp.) and Varun Aaron would be able to change this. Umesh has shown that he has it in him to become the fastest Indian bowler. I think playing a season or two of English County level would help a lot. Zaheer after making a successful comeback in the Indian team told that it helped him.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 11:42 GMT

Aakash...when I read the title...'Fast' bowlers turning extinct in Inddia, I had to think really hard to remember an Indian 'fast' bowler. And by fast bowler I mean not someone who blast at a decent pace (atleast 90 mph) for just one test series and then becomes a medium fast.

Let's be honest, India has never really produced a genuine world-class fast bowler, someone with an average below 25, someone who can regularly bowl at 90 mph. The only decent Indian fast bowler in my book was Srinath, and even his average was somewhere around 30s. I do not know what's wrong with us Indians, we just can't bowl fast and accurate for a sustained period of time. Really beats me, especially when all the other major teams have atleast one quality quickie.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 11:35 GMT

no wonder india cant win outside of india...

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 10:58 GMT

Sad and sorry for him. Cricket is a game of batsman, bowlers are usually the side heroes.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 10:21 GMT

I second your thought Aakash (if I have understood properly). Well presented. I wonder if Indian cricket giants (who virtually hold control BCCI personally)ever go out in quest of a true fast bowler. The world is fade up of watching Pathan and Zaheer pace of under 136km/h. Even MSD, so called SUCCESSFUL CAPTAIN, is promoting spin conditions which is clear from the recent Mukharjee vs MSD case. I doubt if an Indian would tick 145 clock mark consistently in international cricket.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 10:20 GMT

Bowlers are like waiters in our system, their job is to serve the ball to batsman so that he can score some double - triple centuries & earn more endorsements. Its high time fast bowlers given due credit for their toil. Javagal Srinath such a great servant for Indian cricket through the 90s. I saw him in only Glucon - D ad. That is the respect we give to the most hard working cricketers.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 10:00 GMT

Akash Chopra sums it up,we need tracks with bounce to encourage fast bowlers,who will want to bowl in a flat track where ball rarely bounce,infact in those pitches even spinners wont get bounce..BCCI is more concentrated on IPL and Money but overlooking these important aspects..now we dont have a bowling resources be it pacers or spinners,in the next 10yrs we will have 11 batsman in our team

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 9:51 GMT

Indian Cricket never gonna produce good fast bowlers because Indian captain and others only need turning tracks and bowlers. Shameless people.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 9:15 GMT

Sad state of affair. How does Pakistan produce such good quality pace bowlers, aren't their pitches similar to ones in India?

The BCCI and the state boards need to think hard and act fast. Develop fast pitches with good bounce. Get our batsmen acclimated to fast surfaces and in the process save India's pace bowlers!

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 9:07 GMT

Kudos Aakash Bhai for producing such an eye opener.Hope top bosses of BCCI went through it and start preparing ideal wickets where everyone has equal opporutinities..

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 9:02 GMT

There is a difference in value between foreign and Indian players in the IPL. Only 4 players per team can be foreign, so 7 have to be Indian. Since there are multiple (good)foreign teams, the supply of players is much larger and the value goes down. The dearth of top-rate Indian players leads to them being paid much more.

The comparison between Malinga/Steyn and presumably Jadeja is not a correct one. You'd need to tell him that a top-rate Indian fast bowler would be irreplaceable, while a dibbly-dobbly would be a dime a dozen.

Regards,
Jayen

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 8:49 GMT

it is a stark reminder of the times that we live in. everybody looks after himself. nobody has any pride in playing for the country. its all about rewards. the IPL contract is the game changer for many of them. where is varun aaron? he played one test against the west indians last year and got injured. i cannot believe he has still not recovered..

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 8:46 GMT

Mr.Aakash Chopra, many of the readers may not be able to read between the lines in India.I liked your article very much.As if to justify this Dhoni asked for the SG ball to turn from first over.I am afraid BCCI may ask ICC to change a rule where a new ball will be optional rather than compulsory.
Teams scoring 600+ and 700+ in every alternate matches and some players who do not get to play for India have scored more triple centuries than many famous players, this is the result of instruction to the curator in chief and all BCCI members to prepare lovely green top wicket.Cricket Pitch in India will continue to be a great joke and interest to most of the touring teams.If the Indian team loses this match the curator may be sent to gallows not even our President will pardon him.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 8:08 GMT

What happened to the plan of pacy 1st class wickets ?

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 7:54 GMT

Of course, the kid is Deepak Chahar

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 7:36 GMT

Indeed though provoking. But, even then also, we would expect the bowler to be able to bowl real quick at short bursts. It's not that he should be bowling at his 100% all the time . But, he should be willing to go that extra mile in some spells. Fast bowlers are always a rarity and it is a dangerous philosophy to bowl 'smart' all the time , in my humble opinion .

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 7:02 GMT

yup! the teen makes a lotta sense, doesn't he?

one solution i thought of is if the BCCI gives every genuinely fast bowler a bowling coach who monitors the fast bowler carefully so that he is never over-extended... or the fast bowler could be given "guidelines" by his physio/coach on how he himself can monitor his bowling. so, maybe he bowls one genuinely fast spell a day, and bowls the rest at medium pace (concentrating on reverse swing and slower balls and the like)... this way, at least he knows *how* to bowl fast when he absolutely has to, say, in a test match someplace...

the other is, i wonder if improved fitness might help herein. dale steyn never seems to bowl slower, but he is known to be supremely fit!

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:50 GMT

Thanks Akash for this 'eye opener' article. A statistically improbable fact that a billion strong cricket crazy population cannot produce one genuine fast bowler was mind boggling to me. It is now starting to make sense.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:42 GMT

This article is something to be read by the BCCI and the selectors....Well written Akash, again.......

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:21 GMT

Well said, though we have the best foundation(MRF) that produces world class bowlers and gift them to this wonderful game, inability to produce one for our country bothers me a lot.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:15 GMT

Hi Aakash,

As always a great article and very nicely put. Every one needs to have a look here. BCCI has a major point to prove by keeping proper spacing between matches and providing different wickets. Make mohali and dharamshala and few other wickets as good as the Australian and SA wickets and make every team to play mandatory matches there. Not a big deal right.

Lets agree that our bowlers have no pace sensation to idolize unlike the Pakistanis. So we need to put a little more effort.

Thanks,
Samarpan

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 5:02 GMT

Sad but true story.

Got to do a bit with the way our captains and people with influence have treated our fast bowlers. One or two bad overs and out of the attack.
In contrast truckload of mediocre overs by a medium pacer would be treated with loads of respect.

Think about the encouragement we gave bowlers like vrv singh, munaf patel , shreeshant , rp singh when they used to bowl genuinely fast.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 4:57 GMT

Nice one Mr.Chopra as always..It is extremely sad but true fact that a lot of players in the domestic circuit are losing interest in bowling pace when there is no help from the pitches..

BCCI need to start grooming these youngsters earlier in their Ranji career but young fast bowlers also need to learn their trade. Domestic cricket needs to have a long term vision about this. This is very tragic

No featured comments at the moment.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 4:57 GMT

Nice one Mr.Chopra as always..It is extremely sad but true fact that a lot of players in the domestic circuit are losing interest in bowling pace when there is no help from the pitches..

BCCI need to start grooming these youngsters earlier in their Ranji career but young fast bowlers also need to learn their trade. Domestic cricket needs to have a long term vision about this. This is very tragic

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 5:02 GMT

Sad but true story.

Got to do a bit with the way our captains and people with influence have treated our fast bowlers. One or two bad overs and out of the attack.
In contrast truckload of mediocre overs by a medium pacer would be treated with loads of respect.

Think about the encouragement we gave bowlers like vrv singh, munaf patel , shreeshant , rp singh when they used to bowl genuinely fast.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:15 GMT

Hi Aakash,

As always a great article and very nicely put. Every one needs to have a look here. BCCI has a major point to prove by keeping proper spacing between matches and providing different wickets. Make mohali and dharamshala and few other wickets as good as the Australian and SA wickets and make every team to play mandatory matches there. Not a big deal right.

Lets agree that our bowlers have no pace sensation to idolize unlike the Pakistanis. So we need to put a little more effort.

Thanks,
Samarpan

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:21 GMT

Well said, though we have the best foundation(MRF) that produces world class bowlers and gift them to this wonderful game, inability to produce one for our country bothers me a lot.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:42 GMT

This article is something to be read by the BCCI and the selectors....Well written Akash, again.......

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 6:50 GMT

Thanks Akash for this 'eye opener' article. A statistically improbable fact that a billion strong cricket crazy population cannot produce one genuine fast bowler was mind boggling to me. It is now starting to make sense.

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 7:02 GMT

yup! the teen makes a lotta sense, doesn't he?

one solution i thought of is if the BCCI gives every genuinely fast bowler a bowling coach who monitors the fast bowler carefully so that he is never over-extended... or the fast bowler could be given "guidelines" by his physio/coach on how he himself can monitor his bowling. so, maybe he bowls one genuinely fast spell a day, and bowls the rest at medium pace (concentrating on reverse swing and slower balls and the like)... this way, at least he knows *how* to bowl fast when he absolutely has to, say, in a test match someplace...

the other is, i wonder if improved fitness might help herein. dale steyn never seems to bowl slower, but he is known to be supremely fit!

fanedlive
on December 4, 2012, 7:36 GMT

Indeed though provoking. But, even then also, we would expect the bowler to be able to bowl real quick at short bursts. It's not that he should be bowling at his 100% all the time . But, he should be willing to go that extra mile in some spells. Fast bowlers are always a rarity and it is a dangerous philosophy to bowl 'smart' all the time , in my humble opinion .